


We Are The Foxes, And We Run

by 221blackandwhitestripes



Series: The Sound Of Your Heart [3]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: (kinda), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boys Kissing, Canon-Typical Violence, Dreams and Nightmares, Episode: s03e18 Light the Wick, Episode: s03e19 All Will Be Judged, Hallucinations, Hand Jobs, Hate Sex, Hopeful Ending, Inspired by Music, Light Angst, M/M, POV Edward Nygma, i can't tell anymore, i think, i think that's all, trapped together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-06 22:07:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14657193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/221blackandwhitestripes/pseuds/221blackandwhitestripes
Summary: "I hate you," Ed growled."I don't believe you," Oswald whispered, the flat of his teeth brushing Ed's earlobe as he grinned.





	We Are The Foxes, And We Run

**Author's Note:**

> Wooh. I posted this early because people were sad after the last part (rightfully so, it was unnecessarily angsty and I'm a bad human being). Anyway, this is part three from Ed's POV. I hope you enjoy it. There might be a space between this part and the next (simply because I haven't _written_ the next part).
> 
> If you wanna, you can follow me on tumblr at [zebrashavestripes](http://zebrashavestripes.tumblr.com/) and send me a prompt or something because I love prompts and I love hearing what people want to read in a fic.
> 
> Also. it's 1:11 am here, and I have no idea why I'm posting this now.
> 
> Song of choice is [I Know Places](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iRTzCmfrKM) by _Taylor Swift_

_Something happens when everybody finds out._   
_See the vultures circling dark clouds._   
_Love’s a fragile little flame, it can burn out, burn out._   
_‘Cause they got the cages, they got the boxes_   
_And **guns**. _   
_They are the hunters, we are the foxes_   
_And we **run**. _

Idiot.

_Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot._

Ed kicked at whatever he could find in his small cage, a scream of frustration escaping him. It helped to get it out, to run his hands through his hair and _pull_. The pain was punishing, but Ed welcomed it anyway, using it to stay grounded. 

He’d lost track of time somewhere after his last meal. All the meals are the same, jello, oatmeal, green peas and rice. He didn’t know the difference between breakfast and dinner, they were always delivered twelve hours apart. He wasn’t given lunch.

Tiring from his random bout of frustration, Ed laid down on the hard, concrete floor, staring up at the barred ceiling of his cage, and beyond to yet more concrete. He truly was going insane in here.

_“You’re not much fun when you’re not moving.”_

Well, shit.

Edward knew there was a chance that he might be visited by the occasional hallucination in here, but he’d had figured this particular one would have given up by now. He had deduced his hallucination of Oswald had supposed to be a manifestation of the guilt he’d felt after killing the man. But, since Oswald wasn’t dead after all, it didn’t make sense for this mirage to have a continued existence.

“What are you doing here?” he asked it, not bothering to look around for where the voice had manifested from. He heard the errant _splish-splash_ of river water, the huffing, furious breaths.

 _“You were bored. I figured I could help,”_ Not-Oswald stated, his dragging footsteps bringing him into view. He leant over Ed, his head tilting curiously, like a bird. _“How about it, Ed? Do you want to play a game? We both know how much you love them.”_

“Don’t call me that,” Edward growled. He was The Riddler, dammit. Not-Oswald just blinked. “Okay, let’s play a game! How about Hide-and-Seek? You can disappear, and I’ll pretend I care.”

 _“Tut-tut, Edward,”_ Not-Oswald reprimanded. _“Is that really the way you want to speak to your lover?”_

Ed gasped, sitting up furiously. “We- we’re _not_ -”

 _“Oh, you’re not?”_ Oswald frowned, feigning surprise. _“I’m sorry. What is it then, if you’re not lovers? Fuck-buddies? Blow-by-blows? Friends with bene-”_

“Just shut up, Oswald!” Ed yelled.

 _“Okay,”_ Oswald relented. He finally seemed to take in the cage around them, looking around with a frown. _“Nice place you have here. Looks like a giant birdcage. Seems like you’ve got yourself in a real pickle.”_

“It was a simple miscalculation,” Ed sniffed, turning his back on the spectre.

 _“Are you sure?”_ Oswald asked, reappearing in Ed’s eye-line. _“You said it yourself; you’re an idiot. Idiot’s get stuck in cages all the time. Yours just happens to be more literal."_

Ed resisted the urge to stick out his tongue, focussing instead on the walls of his cage, calculating the likelihood of escape.

 _“Less than five-percent.”_ Oswald answered for him, creeping toward Ed before lowering himself to the floor in front of him. _“So, we might as well have some fun while we’re here.”_

Oswald pulled him into a bruising kiss, the pressure heavenly. Ed reluctantly allowed himself to relish in the attention. He almost wished this was real and not a long lost dream.

W _ait._

_“I’m asleep, aren’t I?” Ed accused, pulling away._

_“Bingo, smart guy,” Oswald rolled his eyes. “Have fun waking up.”_

Ed gasped, his eyes blinking open, slowly focussing on the bars making up the cage ceiling where they joined together. Those dreams were getting more and more real, the images exceptionally harder to differentiate from reality.

Edward was broken from his morose thoughts by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Ed got to his feet, backing himself to the edge of the cage and turning to face the wall like he was supposed to do whenever the guards brought him food.

Instead, the cage beside him was unlocked and opened, someone shoved inside. Ed looked over his shoulder curiously, noting the raven-black hair and slight form. Oh. Oh _dear_.

“My name is Oswald Cobblepot! You _cannot_ do this to me- **I demand to speak to the person in charge!** ” Oswald yelled, his shoulders rising like a cat’s hackles.

“Oswald.” The name left his lips, unbidden, as Edward stared at the man unblinkingly. He was dressed in the same overalls as he was, his hair noticeably ruffled and flat. He wasn’t in a dripping-wet suit, grinning at him madly, wasn’t taunting, teasing. That could only mean... “It’s actually you?”

Oswald turned around, a crazed look in his eye as he took Ed in. He slowly limped forward, his gaze never leaving Ed’s as he stared intently. Ed took a step closer as well as Oswald neared the bars. The gravitational pull of Oswald’s orbit made him feel weak and lost, leading him to be easily startled when Oswald’s hand jerked out rapidly to take a hold of his sleeve. Ed pulled himself out of the grip sharply, staring at the hand still grasping for him.

Oswald smirked, Ed watching as he slowly pulled his hand away. “Don’t worry. It’s really me.”

“Yes,” Ed drawled, looking the man up and down. “Unless-” he darted forward, smacking Oswald hard in the head. Just to be sure.

“ _What!_ ” Oswald cried frustratedly, glaring at Ed.

“Just making sure you’re real,” Ed explained, pinching his brow.

“Well, at least you’ve refined your tactic in doing that,” Oswald sneered. “Really, Ed, You must-”

“Don’t call me Ed,” he hissed, stepping towards the bars defiantly. “I’m _The Riddler_. I became him when I killed you.”

“Newsflash, Ed,” Oswald exclaimed, smiling insincerely. “I’m not dead!”

“True,” Ed growled, crossing his arms. 

He had no desire to see the real Oswald, not after… last time. It stung like a fresh bruise, blooming over the skin of his heart, forever prodded by a vicious antagonizer.

“So what’s the plan, Ed?” Oswald asked, tilting his head with mock-consideration.

“What?” Ed snapped.

“Your plan of escape. What is it?” Oswald clarified. Ed glared at him, his breath hissing through his teeth as he seethed. “Oh? You don’t have one. Well, look at that. So much for being a genius, huh, Ed?”

“That is _not_ -” Ed cut himself off, gritting his teeth against the spike of fury. “I have a plan, and I can assure you that when I escape, you will be left behind and locked in here forever. I’m not saving you.”

“Are you sure?” Oswald asked, tilting his head and furrowing his brow. “Remember, I know you, Edward Nygma. I know when you’re lying. And, by the way, you’re not very good at it.”

“That has nothing to do with-” Dammit, why was it so hard to speak? “I-I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Calling you what?” Oswald asked, blinking innocently. “Edward?”

Ed ran his tongue across the front of his teeth, his face twitching as he strained to remain in control of his anger.

“But that’s your name. Edward,” Oswald told him with mock-confusion, his expression slowly morphing into something more sinister. “Edward. Edward, Edward, Edward, Edward Edward Edward Edward Edward Edward EdwardEdwardEdwardEdwardEdwa-”

“ _ **Enough!**_ ” Ed yelled, hands curling into fists.

“What’s wrong? _Edward?_ ” Oswald asked, eyes bright as a smile played on his lips. Ed glared at him, snarling. “What? It’s fine when you’re the one screaming my name like a _cheap whore_ , but it’s not okay when I do it?”

Ed slammed the palm of his hand against the bars, the cool steel impacting his hand with a loud _smack._ “I never loved you. Not for a moment. Not then, not now.”

Oswald smiled, bitter like horseradish, stinging Ed’s eyes as he watched. Without a word, Oswald simply turned around, moving to the far corner of his cage and taking a seat. Ed watched on, removing his sore hand from the bars to curl it into a fist once more as folded his arms.

 _“A relationship of any level couldn't possibly work between us, Ed. We've tarnished each other's lives beyond repair- and don't you pretend it isn't true,”_ Oswald had said, looking at him like he couldn’t wait to get away. No contact for more than three weeks, no harsh words, no interrupting Edward’s heists. 

No more drug trips, just sinking ships, Ed left drowning in a river of remorse where Oswald should have stayed.

?¿?¿?

 _“Edward? Edwaaard,”_ a voice called, bringing him up through the darkness and into the hazy light that shone through the bars. _“ **Edward!** ”_

“Wha-” he sat up, looking around the dusty cage as he wondered when, exactly, he’d fallen asleep.

 _“Really, Ed,”_ Oswald sighed, rolling his eyes as he shook water from his hair. Ed stared in shock, taking in Oswald dripping suit and taut features.

“How did you get in here?” he asked, looking around to see if the door had miraculously opened. “Where did you- _How_ -”

 _“Oh, Ed,”_ Oswald sighed, rolling his eyes. _“You’re still an idiot.”_

“Oh,” Ed breathed. “I’m dr _eaming again, aren’t I?”_

_“Yes. You are,” Oswald told him dryly, rolling his eyes again._

_“Why?” Ed asked, the words forming thickly in his mouth, rising like coffee foam._

_“Well, that’s what happens when you fall asleep, dumbo,” Oswald informed him snarkily._

_“I know that!” Ed snapped. “I meant; why are **you** here?”_

_“Why do you think?” Oswald shrugged. “Just wanted to see the look on your face.”_

_“Really?” Ed raised an eyebrow condescendingly._

_“Of course,” Oswald told him, his grin containing too much white, the teeth lengthening and sharpening shark-like before Ed’s eyes. “And to give you some advice.”_

_“Oh? Well, thank you, but no,” Ed quipped. “I’m fine as it is.”_

_Ignoring him, Oswald slowly walked to the bars, the light piercing through them, striping his face with vertical lines._

_“Look at him,” Oswald instructed. Edward didn’t, eyes dropping to the floor. “Look at him, Ed!”_

_Hesitantly, Ed’s gaze traced the bars, peering through. He crawled closer, taking a better look. Oswald was lying there, curled on his side and facing him, face slack and expression peaceful. Edward wondered if he was doing the same in reality, or if he was sitting there, staring at a sleeping Ed and laughing. Or perhaps planning his murder._

_Ed pursed his lips, inhaling deeply as he turned back to his hallucination. “...And your point is?”_

_“He’s so close, isn’t he?” Oswald mused, ignoring Ed once more. “And yet, try as we might…” Oswald reached through the bars, arm stretching far but missing its mark, “you can’t reach him. Even though you want to.” He turned back to Ed. “Quite a fitting metaphor, don’t you think?”_

_Ed’s gaze drifted back to Oswald, his hair falling loose and greasy against his forehead with its days-old product._

_“Except, of course, the only thing preventing you from getting what you want is, well, **you** ,” Oswald told him, huffing a laugh sardonically._

_“And what is it, exactly, that you think I want?” Edward griped, thoroughly through with this version of Penguin. He just wanted to be left alone._

_“What you’ve always wanted,” Oswald told him, tipping Ed’s chin up with one slick, chilled finger, forcing Ed to meet his eye. “Power…” Oswald grabbed Ed’s hand, circling the palm with his forefinger. “...In the palm of your hand.” A long tongue stretched out of his mouth, the flat of it running across Ed’s palm while Oswald’s eyes bulged out like a snakes._

_Ed shivered, trying to pull away, but his body refused to comply._

_“Look,” Oswald demanded, taking Ed’s face in hand and turning it forcefully. Ed gasped as he realized Oswald had awakened, his eyes bright in the too-white light. Slowly, he stood, watching Edward the whole time. Smirking, he slowly unzipped his coveralls, peering up through his eyelashes salaciously as heat flooded Ed’s cheeks. Beneath the coveralls was a black and white tuxedo, and a whimper escaped Ed as he immediately recognised it._

_“Hush, Edward,” the other Oswald reprimanded. “This is when it gets good.”_

_Red light flooded the room, bright and all-encompassing like blood had poured into Ed’s eyes and tinted the world scarlet. A microphone suddenly in hand and a top hat appearing on his head, Oswald smirked down at Ed and stroked a hand up his own thigh._

_“He’s fierce in my dreams, seizing my guts. He floats me with dread,” Oswald crooned, lips brushing the mic head coquettishly. “Soaked in soul, he swims in my eyes by the bed.” Oswald abandoned the mic, stalking towards Ed before crouching in front of him. As he sang, he ran his fingers up his inner thigh and cupped himself, rolling his hips into the touch. “Pour myself over him, moon spilling in. And I wake up…”_

_“Alone,” the Oswald beside him hissed, drawing Ed's attention. Ed watched on in horror as the hallucination pointed a finger-gun through the bars, his thumb bending rapidly. “Bang.”_

_Ed turned back to the other Oswald, watching on in horror as a scarlet stain bloomed across his stomach._

_“No!” He cried, straining against the bars to reach his friend, to save him, to do **something**._

“Ed.”

_“Bang.”_

_“ **No!** ”_

“Edward.”

_“Bang.”_

_“No, please, no!”_

“Edward, fucking **wake up!** ”

Ed opened his eyes with a gasp, blinking against the light as it pierced his vision.

“Well, thank god that's over.” Ed slowly sat up, his eyes following the voice’s source to find Oswald leaning back against the bars on the far side of his cage, his arms crossed as he looked at Ed with a less than pleased expression. “You were talking in your sleep and it woke me up.”

“Oh, so it's fine when you do it?” Ed parroted back with a harsh glare. Oswald merely raised his eyebrows in response, as if to say; ‘ _that's_ what you're going for?’. Ed’s eyes caught on a small piece of metal Oswald held in his hand, glinting in the light as Oswald put it down beside him. It looked like it’d been fashioned into a makeshift shive.

Edward stood, walking to the bars so he could scowl at Oswald through them. Oswald's eyes traced down his body, his eyebrows raising further as he stared. “Oswald, If you even try to use-”

“Do you need help with that?” Oswald inquired, cutting him off with a sardonic smirk.

“What are you-” Rapid heat flooded Edward's cheeks as he followed Oswald's gaze down to his crotch and the bulge pressing rather apparently through his coveralls. Crud, how had he not noticed that?

“Well?” Oswald raised an eyebrow.

“That- that is a perfectly natural physical reaction to- to various stimulus and a- a lack of…” Ed swallowed thickly. “A lack of r-released tension.”

“So was that a yes or a no?” Ed gaped at him, watching with wide eyes as Oswald limped towards him. “Because if it's a yes, well,” Oswald reached through the bars, running a finger down Ed's chest, reaching lower and lower until he was cupping him fully, “I'd be happy to lend a hand.”

Ed continued to gape, a whine escaping his open mouth as Oswald's hand squeezed around him, good enough to reduce Ed's brain to mush.

“But if it's a no, then…” Oswald's hand withdrew.

“No!” Ed cried, snatching Oswald's hand back through the bars, banging his knuckles against the steel in the process. “I mean, yes. Just… _please_.”

Oswald smiled devilishly, eyes glinting as he followed Ed's guiding hand back to his crotch. He stroked Ed through the fabric, his other hand reaching through the bars to gather the fabric across Ed's chest in a fist and bring him closer.

“You just can't resist, can you?” Oswald whispered, cheek pressing against the bars so the words were breathed against Ed's ear. Shivers ran down Ed's spine as he gulped. The hand not currently pressing and squeezing him started to undo the buttons of his coveralls, spreading the flaps to reveal the tight undershirt the guards had graciously allowed him to keep. Oswald continued lower until all the buttons were undone and the clothing was left hanging open.

“Kiss me,” Oswald demanded, and Ed didn't hesitate to do so. “Good boy,” Oswald hummed against his lips, swiping his tongue against the seam and making Ed whine. As he began to lick into Ed's mouth, tongue swirling around, his hand moved to slip inside Ed's coveralls, stroking him through his underwear before slipping inside those too and drawing out Ed's cock. Ed slammed his hand against the bars as he moaned, sucking Oswald's tongue further into his mouth as he rolled his hips into the grip on his shaft. It was dry and rough, but Oswald soon fixed that, thumb swiping through the pre-come gathering at Ed’s tip and spreading it down his shaft.

Ed broke the kiss, gasping for breath as he fucked into Oswald’s fist, chasing Oswald’s magnetic pull as his chest pressed against the cold bars. “ _Oswald!_ ”

“Good boy, Eddie,” Oswald chuckled against his skin. “Say it again.”

“Oswald!” He gasped, hips slamming against the bars, bound to leave bruises. “Oswald!”

“Again!” Oswald demanded, biting at his ear.

“I hate you,” Ed growled, the pace of his hips growing faster as he got closer and closer to the edge.

“I don’t believe you,” Oswald whispered, the flat of his teeth brushing Ed’s earlobe as he grinned. His grip tightened, rhythm increasing. “Again!”

“Oswald!” Ed moaned, seeing white as he finally found release, his head tossing back. Oswald, Oswald, Oswald!”

“Yes,” Oswald hissed, continuing to stroke him through it. Ed shivered and trembled, clutching the bars in an attempt to remain standing. Ed watched Oswald’s still-moving hand as he came down, eyeing the way it came through the bars curiously. Slowly, through his fogged-out brain, a thought formed, popping into existence like the first raindrop of an impending storm.

“I have an idea,” Ed announced.

“What?” Oswald looked up at him in confusion.

“I have an idea on how we can escape.” Ed looked him up and down, moving to reach through the bars. “But first-”

“No.” Oswald slapped Ed’s hand away, leaving him a little stunned.

“W-Why?” Ed asked, his voice too small for his liking.

Oswald tilted his head as if to say ‘do you really have to ask?’. “So, what’s the plan?”

Ed pressed his lips together, debating whether he should address Oswald’s blatant disregard for his question, before deciding it wasn’t worth it.

“We need to work together. But there have to be rules,” Ed told him firmly.

“What? No sabotage?” Oswald asked, raising an eyebrow sarcastically.

“Of course.” Edward nodded seriously, bypassing Oswald’s sarcasm. “And no murder.”

“Really, Edward, we both know that’s your move, not mine.”

Ed glared at him, hands balling into fists until he slowly released his fury. “Are you with me, or not.”

“I am.” Oswald nodded. “Now, shall we begin?”

?¿?¿?

Ed had forgotten the glory it was to behold Oswald in the midst of battle, the spark in his eyes as he slit a guard’s throat, his unwavering hand as they shot their way out of the building. The way the dark splash of blood contrasted his pale eyes, anointing him as something holy even through a wave of destruction.

Ed couldn’t help but laugh as they pounded down a side door, stumbling through as it gave way. Oswald screamed at a gathering of homeless people, frightening them so they’d quickly disperse, and that, too, was hilarious, sending waves of giggles through Ed.

He dropped his weapon, grabbing Oswald by the shoulder and spinning him, not hesitating before bringing their lips together in a kiss, cupping Oswald’s cheek with his other hand.

“Ed, what are you-” Oswald asked, breaking away.

“Please, just-” Ed pulled him in again, moving his lips against Oswald’s desperately. God, he needed him, needed this, needed power in the palm of his hand, trembling and coursing with fire as Ed brought him to the edge.

“No, Ed,” Oswald snapped. They stared at each other, Ed feeling hopelessly lost as he strained from reaching out again.

“Oswald, please.” Edward swallowed roughly, vision growing blurry as he pleaded. “You can ask me to leave again if you must, but you can’t keep- keep _pretending_ like I don’t exist, like _this_ -” he waved a hand at the space between their bodies, “doesn’t exist.”

“Ed, I told you before-” Oswald began, placatingly.

“I don’t care!” Ed insisted. “I just- please, _anything_ , I’ll take anything. Just- just give me a chance.”

Oswald paused for a long moment, Ed’s heart dropping with every second he didn’t answer.

“It would have to be a secret.”

Ed breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course.”

“And it would be completely casual, no… no _feelings_ ,” Oswald insisted.

“Agreed.” Ed nodded, fingers curling into fists. “So, is that a yes?”

“I-I think so,” Oswald told him, voice hesitant. “As long as we’re on the same page.”

“We are,” Ed confirmed eagerly. “So… does this mean I can kiss you now?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

And, boy, did he _ever_.

_The lights flash and we run for the fences._   
_Let them say what they want - We won’t hear it._   
_Loose lips sink ships all the damn time._   
_But not this time._   
_Just grab my hand, and don’t ever drop it,_   
_My love._ _They are the hunters, we are the foxes,_   
_And we **run.**_

**Author's Note:**

> Did I redeem myself? I hope so.


End file.
